The obvious reason no team wants to face the San Francisco Giants in October is because of their pitching. With Tim Lincecum finding his groove, no club sports four better starters and even without Brian Wilson all season, manager Bruce Bochy has made the bullpen work.

No team is playing any better down the stretch, either. Well, the Brewers have a better record—by one game—but they still are long shots to reach the post-season. The Giants, winners of 12 of 16, already have clinched the West and are edging toward the Nationals and Reds for top seed in the National League. If they get it, their pitching won’t be the only reason.

RISERS

San Francisco Giants. It might be time to stop pooh-poohing the Giants’ offense just because it has as many homers at AT&T Park (28) as Miguel Cabrera has by himself at Comerica Park.

These Giants can hit as well as pitch. They are tied with the Brewers for the NL lead in runs scored since the All-Star break, and they haven’t had trouble scoring on the road all season. They lead the NL in runs on the road by 39.

Last week could have been their finest hours, too. The Giants hit .338 as a team while winning six of seven. Pablo Sandoval led the way with four home runs, and Marco Scutaro continued to show why he has made the biggest impact of any player who was traded at the deadline. Buster Posey has emerged as one of the top contenders for NL MVP for carrying the Giants’ offense all season but he’s had plenty of help lately.

New York Yankees. They may be old, but they’re still finding a way to hold off the Baltimore Orioles. So far, anyway. Andy Pettitte returned last week and picked up where he had left off, and CC Sabathia’s elbow looked just fine in eight shutout innings against the Oakland A’s.

But the guys who provided the biggest lifts were aging outfielders Ichiro Suzuki and Raul Ibanez. Suzuki went a majors-best 15 for 25 last week to raise his average to .331 in pinstripes. Ibanez came out of a slump—and off the bench— to hit two home runs and save the day Saturday in a huge 10-9, 14-inning victory over the A’s.

Derek Jeter, meanwhile, keeps rolling along. He took a 17-game hitting streak into the week, a stretch during which he was 29 for 78 (.372).

The Tampa Bay Rays offense. Thanks mostly to a popgun offense, the Rays had lost seven of eight and their playoff chances were down to just about nil last Tuesday. So what does Joe Maddon do? He tells his players they don’t need to take batting practice the next day or even report until 90 minutes before first pitch. How does the team respond? With a 13-run barrage that leads to a four-game outburst of 43 runs that results in a five-game winning streak. Before their bats found life, the Rays needed 12 games to score that many runs.

FALLERS

Oakland Athletics. The amazing A’s finally showed signs of faltering last week as they lost series at Detroit and New York. Their young rotation could be wearing down, which means the bullpen could be next. A’s relievers combined to work 30 2/3 innings last week, while their starters worked 26. In six games, Jarrod Parker was the lone starter to last more than five innings. A.J. Griffin struggled twice, and Travis Blackley didn’t make it past two innings against the Yankees. But what hurt most was another injury to Brett Anderson (strained right oblique), who is expected to miss the rest of the regular season. Even with their starters struggling and Josh Reddick enduring a 2-for-27 week, the A’s played tough at Yankee Stadium with both of their losses coming in extra innings. The A’s and Yankees finished their season series at 5-5, with the last seven games decided by one run.

Toronto Blue Jays. Their week began with Yunel Escobar’s gay slur putting them in the news for the wrong reasons. Then their starting pitching added to the misery. The Blue Jays gave up double-digit runs in three straight games as no starter lasted longer than four innings. “It’s been a rough stretch,” manager John Farrell said after Brandon Morrow gave up five earned runs in four innings at Tampa Bay. Indeed it has. The Blue Jays began the week on a six-game losing streak, the fourth time in the second half they have dropped at least five in a row. There was a glimmer of good news: Ricky Romero pitched eight strong innings at New York. It wasn’t good enough to end a winless streak that reached 15 starts but at least he didn’t suffer the loss. Romero has gone 0-13 since starting the season 8-1.

The Chicago White Sox’s offense. They scored a total of eight runs in losing five straight at Kansas City and Anaheim. The key word there is “at.” The White Sox are one of the AL’s weakest offensive teams when they leave the cozy confines of U.S. Cellular Field. Only the Boston Red Sox have scored fewer runs on the road than the White Sox, while only the Red Sox and Rangers have scored more runs in home games. The White Sox’s big guns—Paul Konerko, Adam Dunn and Kevin Youkilis—struggled mightily on the road last week. In six games, they went a combined 8 for 62 (.129) with one RBI.